They’re the closest of friends, Fred VanVleet and Norm Powell are. Kindred spirits and long-time teammates, and there’s a special bond there.
They broke into the NBA about the same time and with about the same lack of hype — Powell a mid-second-round draft pick who’d been in Toronto for one season when the unheralded, undrafted rookie VanVleet showed up — and they’ve known little other than success in their time together with the Raptors.
They’ve won a championship and a ton of games. They have grown as men and as athletes, and grown close.